john risner
Member
I am clearing my own land in East TN and own and run a Bobcat E42 mini ex, ASV 135 (moved up from and ASV 75 in 2023) with mulcher, and recently bought a 1972 Cat D8H. I wouldn't have bought the Cat without having a great neighbor who not only has run them but worked on them. We replaced the rails and sprockets, refurb turbo and all new fluids and filters. Runs fine and great for building roads. My neighbor does the big work but he is teaching me how to run it.
Anyway I wanted a larger mini ex, but during Covid the E42 (5 tons) was all I could get fast. It has been a good machine for it's size, but I am asking it to do too much. The land I am clearing is mixed hardwoods from saplings to 24". I mulch trees up to 5", save 5-8" for firewood, send 8-11 to the pallet mill and the 11"+ to the Amish mill. Digging roots out on a 20" scarlet oak and then moving those logs uphill is more than the E42 was built for. The D8 is great for knocking down trees, but there are places best done with an excavator, and I don't want to move downed trees out with a winch.
I was thinking about trading in the Bobcat on a larger mini ex like the Bobcat E85 or Kubota KX80. Both of these are around 9 tons. I haven't priced the Kubota yet, but the Bobcat sticker is 140k which sounds way too high. I paid 61k for the E42 in 2021 during the height of Covid.
All that is background to my other option - buying an old mid size (15-20 tons) machine. When I say old, I would prefer pre def, and expect that it would have 5-8000 hours on it. Much like the Cat D8, I am ok with investing in some parts and doing some work on it, but I want to avoid big jobs like cylinder reboring, or replacing all the seals and bushings.
I check the auction sites and these things seem to trade at a reasonable value to me. But I don't have a handle on how much repair/update work is usual for, as an example a 15-20 year old 15 ton excavator with 8000 hours. I realize this question is machine specific, but can anyone offer general guidance?
If I pay 30k for the example above, and budget 20k in parts and labor (mine and my neighbors who is very reasonable), will that get me a machine that is reliable for personal use of around 500 hours per year mostly clearing trees and digging ponds? All all cylinders and hoses pretty much shot at 8000 hours? I am comfortable evaluating the undercarraige and updating that if needed, but have no experience on other systems of big excavators.
I am not hung up on brands, but appreciate any thoughts on this forum of the brands that are built well and last, and what to expect if I go down this road.
Anyway I wanted a larger mini ex, but during Covid the E42 (5 tons) was all I could get fast. It has been a good machine for it's size, but I am asking it to do too much. The land I am clearing is mixed hardwoods from saplings to 24". I mulch trees up to 5", save 5-8" for firewood, send 8-11 to the pallet mill and the 11"+ to the Amish mill. Digging roots out on a 20" scarlet oak and then moving those logs uphill is more than the E42 was built for. The D8 is great for knocking down trees, but there are places best done with an excavator, and I don't want to move downed trees out with a winch.
I was thinking about trading in the Bobcat on a larger mini ex like the Bobcat E85 or Kubota KX80. Both of these are around 9 tons. I haven't priced the Kubota yet, but the Bobcat sticker is 140k which sounds way too high. I paid 61k for the E42 in 2021 during the height of Covid.
All that is background to my other option - buying an old mid size (15-20 tons) machine. When I say old, I would prefer pre def, and expect that it would have 5-8000 hours on it. Much like the Cat D8, I am ok with investing in some parts and doing some work on it, but I want to avoid big jobs like cylinder reboring, or replacing all the seals and bushings.
I check the auction sites and these things seem to trade at a reasonable value to me. But I don't have a handle on how much repair/update work is usual for, as an example a 15-20 year old 15 ton excavator with 8000 hours. I realize this question is machine specific, but can anyone offer general guidance?
If I pay 30k for the example above, and budget 20k in parts and labor (mine and my neighbors who is very reasonable), will that get me a machine that is reliable for personal use of around 500 hours per year mostly clearing trees and digging ponds? All all cylinders and hoses pretty much shot at 8000 hours? I am comfortable evaluating the undercarraige and updating that if needed, but have no experience on other systems of big excavators.
I am not hung up on brands, but appreciate any thoughts on this forum of the brands that are built well and last, and what to expect if I go down this road.
